I'm going to try to list what I consider some of the greats of stand-up comedy, but by all means choose "other" if you want to mention somebody not listed.
George Carlin for me. He has great flow in his delivery, and the faces he makes alone crack me up. The last special he made for HBO definitely showed his age though. Kind of sad as he doesn't look like he has many more specials left in him.
I go with Carlin on longevity. Additionally, stand-up is his forte. I look at some of the other guys on that list (Eddie Murphy, Bill Cosby, Robin Williams), and all have been more noteable for other acts. Not that their stand-up wasn't good either, of course. But Carlin is almost exclusively a stand-up. Recently though, Ron White has made me laugh a LOT.
Great poll idea. Know you can't ever include everybody, but no Seinfeld? And Foxworthy gets a spot? Harsh!
I dunno....I just could never get into Seinfeld. I must admit I've never seen his stand-up routine though.
Just to mention a few ladies: Margaret Cho is HILARIOUS. So are Sarah Silverman and Ellen DeGeneres. Some of the sketches Ellen does in her one of her one-woman shows (don't remember which one) are unforgettable.
I love Seinfeld's stand-up. Not the stuff that occasionally bookended the earlier seasons of his show--which even he admitted to having to shoehorn in order to fit with some episodes--but his real stand-up is great, reasonably smart, observational humor. Certainly better than Foxworthy. Maybe try giving "I'm Telling You for the Last Time" a rent sometime. I'm also a fan of David Cross--his two comedy albums are awesome. edit: Oh, and Sarah Silverman. Good call, pi.
Agreed. Three of my favorite stand-ups. Ellen is hilarious! Sarah Silverman is my all-time favorite, though. I don't watch stand-up very often so I'm rather limited on what to vote for. There is an unfortunate lack of woman comics in this poll.
I have nothing against female comedians, but most that I've seen just do nothing for me. I didn't leave them out here intentionally though, I just had the male comedians come to mind first. Perhaps an all female comedian poll could be listed by someone.
Richard Pryor all the way. I caught some of Seinfeld's cable specials during the mid-80s...funny stuff. I don't know how they would seem to a person who had seen the series first, though.
This is almost impossible to pick one as there are so many greats. I'm leaning toward Chris Rock just cuz I quote him more and his material is so true, but then again many other's material is true and it feels like a diss to Carlin and Pryor. Early Leary had me rolling, and I cried when Kinison died as he was my favorite at the time. I grew up on Pryor, Murphy, Foxx then Dice had his days... I can't vote. Good idea for a poll, but my tastes change too much to be fair to anyone. I can say Louie Anderson doesn't belong on the list, he's nowhere near the others and doesn't deserve to be mentioned in the same thread!
All time-Eddie Murphy, especially Delirious. More recent-Martin Lawrence and Dave Chappelle(The Chappelle Show was genius!!).
How does Lewis Black not make the list .The funniest stand up on the face of the earth. LUCIO!!!!! ----------------------------------:evil: --------------------------------- Grease Guy : Four pounds of grease...that comes to 63 cents. Homer : Woo Hoo. Bart : Dad, all that bacon cost 27 dollars. Homer : Yeah, but your mom payed for that. Bart : But doesn't she get her money from you. Homer : And I get my money from grease, what's the problem. Some Of My DVDs
Richard Pryor for me. Rodney Dangerfield and George Carlin would be in a tie for second place on my list.
